Nou Barris · 46
el Turó de la Peira
Turó de la Peira is an intensely dense neighbourhood built on ground once occupied by an estate and park, marked by accelerated housing, decades of neighbourhood organisation and the trauma of aluminosis. Its history did not end with the 1990 collapse: it continues through rehabilitation, demolition, rebuilding, facilities and the question of who pays to maintain a city built quickly.
At a rehabilitated block, look for differences in façades, joints, balconies and entrances. Do not guess which building “had aluminosis” from appearance. The lesson is larger: materials, inspection, administration and mobilisation can turn an invisible chemical problem into a visible urban crisis.
The neighbourhood occupies the slopes of the hill that names it, between Vilapicina, Can Peguera and other Nou Barris sectors. Mid-twentieth-century growth concentrated apartment blocks on difficult ground, with public space and services often arriving after residents.
The summit park, dense housing, facilities and old Santa Eulàlia nucleus at the edge make an uneven geography. The account should connect slope, mass construction, material quality and collective action.
el Turó de la Peira (neighbourhood 46) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
el Turó de la Peira (neighbourhood 46) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
Where the name comes from
Turó describes the hill. The documentary origin of Peira requires checking against nomenclature and property archives; do not automatically translate it as “stone” or invent a legend. The name was associated with the estate and hill before the present neighbourhood consolidated.
The historical place-name is distinct from later administrative labels. Nearby Santa Eulàlia de Vilapicina helps explain memories and uses crossing current boundaries.
Elevated Nou Barris sector among other polígons.
Before the neighbourhood
Before dense urbanisation came cultivation, vegetation, routes, estates and hill-scale extractive uses. The city acquired the Turó estate in 1933; a 1936 park project was interrupted by war and later transformations.
Post-war housing pressure accelerated construction. Blocks using economical systems and materials housed a growing working population. Residential city advanced faster than street works and public facilities.
How the streets were made
The fabric combines sloping streets, blocks adapting to or imposed on the land, retaining walls, stairs and perimeter roads. Mass development produced leftover spaces and difficult routes, especially for people with reduced mobility.
Park restoration from the 1970s and later facilities attempted to recover ground and continuity. The contemporary sports centre stacks pool and hall to release green space—a direct architectural response to scarce flat land.
Dates that changed it
- 1933: municipal acquisition of the Turó de la Peira estate.
- 1936: park project attributed to Lluís Riudor; war interrupts its course.
- 1950s–1970s: major residential growth and densification.
- 1977: park restoration led by Joaquim Casamor in the commonly cited chronology.
- 11 November 1990: the building at 33 Carrer Cadí collapses; one resident dies and aluminosis becomes a public crisis.
- 1990s–2000s: inspections, rehousing, demolition, rehabilitation and rebuilding.
- 2019–2020: the new Turó de la Peira sports complex enters service.
- 2025–2028: A joint Neighbourhood Plan with Can Peguera advances through distinct interventions.
People and collective life
Industrial, construction, cleaning, retail and care workers—many families from elsewhere in Spain and later other countries—built and maintained the neighbourhood. Staircase communities were crucial for spotting cracks, sharing information and pressuring authorities.
After 1990, material fear became organisation: associations, affected-resident platforms, technical experts and neighbours demanded inspection, safety, alternative housing, repair and accountability.
People behind the buildings
Behind the blocks are developers, architects, engineers, companies, officials and builders; also residents who repaired and adapted them for decades. The aluminosis history must distinguish documented responsibility from generalisations about the entire housing stock.
The new sports centre by Anna Noguera and Javier Fernández uses a stacked section and green gallery to combine sport and park. Its physical solution matters together with the people who work there and those able to use it.
Institutions
The park, sports complex, schools, primary care, market and neighbourhood organisations sustain the area. The park is climate and health infrastructure, but access depends on slope, stairs, hours, shade and maintenance.
The 2025–2028 Neighbourhood Plan is a funding and governance framework, not a list of completed works. Every project needs status and checked date.
Struggles that left a mark
Demand: Struggles for basic services, transport, schools and public space predated aluminosis. After the collapse, structural safety exposed inequalities in materials, oversight and the ability to negotiate with government.
Outcome: Major public programmes after conflict
Demand: Rehabilitation is not purely technical: it decides who is rehoused, where and for how long, what happens to rents and communities, and how one victim and a stigmatised neighbourhood are remembered.
Outcome:
What can still be seen
Different generations of blocks, façade rehabilitation, reconstructed spaces, walls, stairs and abrupt levels remain legible. The park preserves a substantial green area against immediate density.
Do not label buildings as aluminosis-affected without documentation
Aluminosis cannot be assigned to a building by appearance alone. Documented inspections, structural joints and façade interventions belong to a public history of maintenance.
What disappeared
Fields, original vegetation, buildings demolished after diagnosis and the Cadí 33 block disappeared. Homes, routines and networks were also lost during rehousing.
Media accounts long reduced Turó to “the aluminosis neighbourhood”. That simplification erases the park, everyday organisation, migrant cultures and generations that continued making life after crisis.
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 Turó de la Peira had 17,378 residents, a density of 490.9 people per hectare, a €17,500 mean census-section income in 2023, 35.4 hectares, and 27.1% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.
This is extraordinary density on sloping ground. Lifts, entrance accessibility, places to rest, shade, ventilation and structural maintenance are distributive policy.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 27.1%
What is changing
The 2025–2028 Neighbourhood Plan, energy and structural rehabilitation, accessible routes, park use and sports activity are changing. No announcement should be reported as a completed result.
Works, programmes, access and phases are time-sensitive. Interventions shared with Can Peguera have a specific physical location and serve identifiable communities.
What the guides leave out
Guides offer the view or park and perhaps a note on aluminosis. They omit mechanisms: high-alumina cement, inspection, affected communities, rehousing, public decisions and long rehabilitation. They also omit life that does not fit inside a crisis.
Turó shows maintenance as urban justice: materials age, but risk depends on who inspects, who informs and who can demand repair.
Read it on foot
Start: Vilapicina / bus · End: Estate core
Walking (excluding stop time): 15 min · 1150 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 50 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the three marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. Check access conditions, works and opening hours before setting out. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.
el Turó de la Peira (neighbourhood 46) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
el Turó de la Peira (neighbourhood 46) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, Verdun, la Prosperitat.
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Type: statistical_dataset. Locator: pad-sexe-2026. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [2] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Type: statistical_dataset. Locator: densitat-2021. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [3] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Type: statistical_dataset. Locator: renda-2023. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [4] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Població per nacionalitat i sexe. Barris. Type: statistical_dataset. Locator: pad-nac-2026. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [5] Joan Busquets (2005). Barcelona: the urban evolution of a compact city. Type: book. Locator: busquets-barcelona. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [6] MUHBA / Ajuntament de Barcelona (n.d.). MUHBA — Museu d'Història de Barcelona (publicacions i jaciments). Type: museum. Locator: muhba. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [7] AHCB / Ajuntament de Barcelona (n.d.). Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona — fons i cartografia. Type: archive. Locator: ahcb. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona (n.d.). Catàleg de patrimoni arquitectònic de Barcelona. Type: heritage_catalogue. Locator: heritage-catalog. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [9] PAH (n.d.). Plataforma d'Afectats per la Hipoteca. Type: civil_society. Locator: pah. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [10] FAVB (n.d.). Federació d'Associacions de Veïns i Veïnes de Barcelona. Type: civil_society. Locator: favb. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [11] Historiografia de l'habitatge / Ajuntament de Barcelona (1929). Cases barates de Barcelona (política d'habitatge social interwar). Type: housing_history. Locator: cases-barates. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona (n.d.). Nomenclàtor dels carrers de Barcelona. Type: gazetteer. Locator: nomenclator-bcn. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [13] TMB (n.d.). Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona — xarxa de metro. Type: transport. Locator: tmb. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 17 July 2026 · 13 sources consulted